The first eHighway system on a public road opened in June 2016. For the coming two years, a Siemens catenary system for trucks will be tested on a two-kilometer stretch of the E16 highway north of Stockholm. The trial will use two diesel hybrid vehicles manufactured by Scania and adapted, in collaboration with Siemens, to operate under the catenary system. During the two-year trial, Sweden’s Transport Administration Trafikverket and Gävleborg County want to create a knowledge base on whether the Siemens eHighway system is suitable for future commercial use and further deployment. As part of its climate protection strategy, Sweden has committed to having a fossil fuel independent transport sector by 2030.

Steel producer, ArcelorMittal South Africa (AMSA) and government have agreed to remove import parity pricing with immediate affect in a bid to boost South Africa’s steel industry.

The local price for flat steel products will be based on an import-weighted basket.

“It will be determined by the weighted average of countries we compete with and will exclude China and Russia,” Trade and Industry Minister Dr Rob Davies, told Parliament’s Trade and Industry Portfolio Committee on Tuesday.

The decision follows mounting concern about the global steel glut. The new agreement will make sure that domestic prices do not increase on an import parity basis when the international steel price increases in future.

“We have tried to develop a solution that will ensure the continued production of primary steel in South Africa, and at the same time address some of the structural challenges around pricing policy,” Davies said.

He said the basket aimed to provide a fair price during boom and bust periods.

The pricing principles would apply to flat steel products, which have more value-add.

The weighted average will be based on the domestic steel price in countries South Africa competes with in steel-intensive downstream sectors and subsectors. These are fabricated metal products, machinery and equipment and vehicles and other transport equipment.

The basket of countries come from the European Union, which makes up 50% between France, the UK, Italy and Spain; Asia – making up 30%, and the US, Canada and Brazil completing the basket.

“When ArcelorMittal reviews its flat steel pricing, it will be done using a transparent mechanism based on forecast basket prices using the latest CRU published prices, where available, and the rand:dollar exchange rate, assuming one month forward. The announced and published price will include the settlement discount, currently at 2.5%,” said Davies.

He said the agreement on a set of principles for flat steel pricing in South Africa would ensure that steel-dependent industries were competitive while at the same time ensuring that the upstream steel mills remained sustainable.

The announcement follows the Competition Commission’s settlement with AMSA. The company admitted to being involved in the long steel and scrap metal cartels, and agreed to pay an administrative penalty of R1.5-billion in five annual installments of no less than R300-million.

AMSA has also committed to R4.6-billion capital expenditure over the next five years. Davies said he hoped this would help to make the steel industry far more competitive than it is.

“The obligations we have extracted from ArcelorMittal are significant as we move ahead in order to find the balance, save primary steel manufacturing in this country, and ensure some steps towards the change of behaviour by primary steel manufacturers,” said Davies.

He disputed criticism by Democratic Alliance MP Dean Macpherson, that the government had been “shielding” AMSA, which it accused of “ripping the ring out of the downstream market for too long and without any consequences.”

“We share the view that ArcelorMittal’s pricing has been damaging to downstream industries. But we are not dealing with angels and devils here. It is a much more mixed picture. We have had to act to make concessions, otherwise we risk losing primary steel manufacturing in South Africa,” said Davies.

The Department of Public Enterprises and National Treasury will consolidate procurement for locomotives into a single institution, under Transnet, to ensure “efficiency and compliance with the localisation requirements”. The decision to set up the unit was made at the recent Cabinet lekgotla, which took place in Pretoria from August 16 to 19.

Minister in The Presidency for Performance Monitoring and Evaluation Jeff Radebe indicated that it would have oversight over the localisaiton programmes at both Transnet Freight Rail and the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA).

Details remain sketchy, but Radebe indicated that the aim was to “utilise economies of scale of all entities that belong to the State” to support higher levels of local content in rail rolling stock.

“You will recall that 18 months ago the African Union designated South Africa to be the manufacturing hub of locomotives [on the continent], so we need to ensure that South Africa is properly positioned to play that central role,” he said.

The stipulated thresholds for local production and content are 60% for electric locomotives and 55% for diesel locomotives, with various components, such as car body shells and bogie frames, to be fully localised from the start of the programme. Other components, such as traction motors and braking systems, are expected to be localised progressively over a six-year period.

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has indicated previously that it is “concerned” about whether all four of the original-equipment manufacturers (OEMs) that have been awarded parts of a R50-billion contract to supply 1 064 electric and diesel locomotives to Transnet are in a position to meet the minimum thresholds set out in local-content designations for the rail rolling stock sector.

The suppliers include General Electric South Africa Technologies, China South Rail Zhuzhou Electric Locomotive, Bombardier Transportation South Africa and China North Rail Rolling Stock South Africa. The two Chinese companies have since merged.

PRASA, meanwhile, has awarded a R51-billion contract to the Gibela consortium to supply 600 X’Trapolis Mega commuter trains over ten years. The first 20 commuter trains are being built at an Alstom facility in Lapa, Brazil, with the balance to be assembled at a R1-billion new facility, which is being developed at a site in Dunnottar, near Nigel in Gauteng.

He says that, while progress is being made in rebuilding South Africa’s rail-linked industrial capabilities, several problems persist, one being a lack of alignment between the country’s black economic empowerment programme and initiatives to bolster local content and small business.

There is also an ongoing dispute over who should bear the financial burden associated with the verification of local content, with the South African Bureau of Standards having established to SATS 1286:2011 technical specification for that purpose.

The slowdown in the domestic and African economies is also affecting both local and export demand, as well as the profile of demand, which is now likely to be far less smooth than initially expected.

Transnet has reported that its multibillion-rand capital expenditure (capex) plan, which has already been rephased in response to weaker-than-expected market demand, could be further moderated under what it terms a ‘low-road scenario’.

Outlining its revised capital plan in its recently released 2016 integrated report, the group shows that, under its official 2017 plan, it will invest R277.8-billion over the seven-year period to 2023 and between R340-billion to R380-billion over the next ten years.

Capex of R22.8-billion is planned for the current financial year, which is lower than the nearly R30-billion invested last year and well below the peak of R33.6-billion recorded in the 2015 financial year. Capex then rises steadily from R36.2-billion in the 2018 financial year to a peak of nearly R50-billion in 2022.

However, the report also provides insight into a ‘low-road scenario’, which shaves R22.9-billion from the seven-year investment plan and lowers the overall budget for the period to R254.9-billion. Under the scenario, spending is moderated materially in 2017 to 2021, whereafter its rises steeply to peak at R54.3-billion in 2023.

The Hybrid Power Generation System (HPGS) of national security alliance the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation’s (Nato’s) Energy Security Centre of Excellence has won one of the Energy Transition Trophies 2016.

The awards, held in Paris, France, in June, covered such themes as factories, energy, renewable energy, energy transition and mobility, and were organised by leading professional press group in France, Usine Nouvelle.

The HPGS smart energy system beat more than 130 rival projects in the renewable- energy category. The system is based on Germany-based cable and overhead line accessory manufacturer Pfisterer’s CrossPower technology, which combines conventional and renewable-energy sources in one system.

Pfisterer’s CrossPower system creates isolated power grids, or microgrids, in which wind turbine and photovoltaic (PV) systems are combined with conventional diesel generators.

“This alliance of hybrid power generation and intelligent management ensures a highly secure power supply,” according to Pfisterer.

Further, the system allows for a stable, mobile power supply in various areas.

In emergency scenarios, the ability to rapidly establish a reliable power supply is crucial, the company noted in a press statement last month, adding that, with the HPGS, stable power grids could now be set up rapidly in locations such as remote areas, earthquake zones or refugee camps, or areas of conflict.

While the Lithuanian Armed Forces have been testing the system in field conditions since the beginning of the year, Nato will soon deploy the system in planned military exercises, the Nato Energy Security Centre of Excellence says.

Pfisterer and the centre gave a demonstration of the technology at Eurosatory, the world’s largest international land, air defence and security exhibition, in Paris, in June. This was Pfisterer’s first joint trade fair appearance with the Nato energy organisation. The hybrid power concept attracted military and civilian interest.

Modern lithium-ion batteries store solar or wind power in the system. The control system automatically prioritises renewable-energy sources according to their availability, whereas the diesel generators function only as required to recharge the batteries and always operate at their optimum output range.

This reduces fuel consumption by up to 50% and makes the system remarkably efficient, the company noted.

A single 150 kW plant can provide a reliable supply for a hospital with 100 people or to a military base with up to 150 soldiers, while the entire system is based on touch-safe design and can be operated in the close vicinity of tents and equipment.

Additionally, the system can be housed in two International Organisation for Standardisation-certified 20-ft containers for transport, taking up very little space.

One container accommodates the PV system and the wind turbine mast, while the second accommodates the management system, switchgear, batteries and diesel generators.

The CrossPower system is scaled by design and is available with rated power outputs from 25 kW up to 1 000 kW/1 MW as a stationary unit. Additional modules can be integrated, for instance, into a hydroelectric power station, a permanent power grid or a Smartflower solar system.

Following two years of research and preparing for the local manufacturing of new innovative materials handling equipment, Pretoria-based materials handling company Wuhlf started manufacturing last month and has reached full production.

Engineering News reported in January that the company would manufacture materials handling equipment – including wheel loaders, forklifts and numerous attachments – designed specifically for the South African market.

Manufacturing Wuhlf products enables the company to predict its quality and outcome as the inputs and outputs of the expected end product can be controlled.

“There is a need for materials handling equipment in the engineering industry, owing to the size of projects and the moving of loads. Being able to manufacture the equipment in South Africa gives the company the upper hand in producing high-quality, low-technology products relevant for the local market,” says Wuhlf director Johan Grobler.

Another advantage is the number of jobs created by manufacturing locally, as this increases Wuhlf’s contribution towards social responsibility.

Moreover, Grobler notes that the maintenance requirements of the locally manufactured equipment are relatively low and require no electronics.

He explains that the nonelectronic tools for maintenance allow for end-users to repair and maintain the equipment themselves, with parts being locally available and easy to use.

“A few companies in the engineering industry still think that high-technology equipment is a better option; however, locally manufactured low-technology front-end loaders and terrain forklifts are more reliable in terms of maintenance and availability,” he asserts.

Design Specifications

Grobler says Wuhlf is manufacturing front-end loaders and terrain forklifts. Front-end loaders are used on farms, construction sites and where supplies need to be picked up and transported from one location to another, he notes, adding that the terrain forklift is equipment used to lift and move materials short distances.

Grobler notes that the Wuhlf ML 18 front-end loader has a full hydraulic articulated frame steering, with a 35° angle, and a width of 1 900 mm. He adds that the machine’s overall operating weight is 4 370 kg, with a bucket capacity of 0.9 m.

He points out that the machine uses an open-mode controlling system, with an 85 ∙ fuel tank capacity, a 15 ∙ oil tank capacity and a 4 ∙ break system, as well as a four-cylinder diesel engine of 47 kW and 2 400 rpm.

ABB Robotics has launched its latest robot – the IRB 1660ID – for applications such as arc welding, machine tending and materials handling, which require work in tight spaces.

The new robot’s Integrated DressPack solution makes it easier to programme and simulate predictable cable movements, creates a more compact footprint and reduces maintenance costs by 50%, owing to reduced wear and tear on cables.
“Our aim . . . was to deliver a robot that offers superior and consistent quality in arc welding, as well as a fast, agile and reliable machine-tending solution,” ABB Robotics global product management head Dr Hui Zhang explained in a press statement last month.

The robot will also enable customers to increase productivity, deliver better workpiece quality and reduce cycle times, he noted.

The IRB 1660ID, with the aid of RobotStudio, ABB’s offline robot software programming tool, enables programmers to envision high-density cells, with several robots welding close to one another.

Additionally, the compact and hollow IP67 wrist enables fast and reliable movements, while the risk of collision in confined spaces is also eliminated. The combined working range of 1 390° for axes 4, 5 and 6 ensures agility inside computer numerically controlled machines.

“As a direct result of close collaboration with our customers, the IRB 1660ID also includes a new generation of accurate, efficient and reliable motors,” said Zhang.

The IRB 1660ID has a reach of 1.55 m and can handle payloads of up to 6 kg.

While the robot’s predecessor, the IRB 1600ID is installed at several sites across South Africa, ABB South Africa expects to service the first orders for the new robot in the near future.

ABB South Africa service manager Alok Maharaj told Engineering News that there was significant demand for welding, assembly, painting and finishing in the automotive and metal fabrication industries, as well as picking, packing and palletising in the pharmaceuticals and food and beverage industries.

“Traditionally, the automotive sector has driven the technology and adoption of robotics in industry. However, small to medium-sized enterprises are also starting to invest as decreasing prices and increased labour issues become a reality,” Maharaj said.

SHANNON, Ireland – August 16, 2016 – GE Capital Aviation Services (GECAS), the commercial aircraft leasing and financing arm of GE, today announced it signed a purchase-and-leaseback transaction with Qatar Airways for five new Airbus A350-900 aircraft to help expand the carrier’s fleet.

About Qatar Airways

Qatar Airways, the national carrier of the State of Qatar, is one of the fastest growing airlines operating one of the youngest fleets in the world. Now in its 19th year of operations, Qatar Airways has a modern fleet of 190 aircraft flying to more than 150 key business and leisure destinations across six continents.

A multiple award-winning airline, Qatar Airways was awarded World’s Best Business Class; Best Business Class Airline Lounge and Best Airline Staff Service in the Middle East at the prestigious 2016 World Airline Awards managed by international air transport rating organisation Skytrax.

Qatar Airways is a member of the oneworld global alliance. The award-winning alliance was named the World’s Best Airline Alliance 2015 by Skytrax for the third year running. Qatar Airways was the first Gulf carrier to join global airline alliance, Oneworld, enabling its passengers to benefit from more than 1,000 airports in more than 150 countries, with 14,250 daily departures.

Scandinavia is the first region in the world to rely increasingly on battery-powered and thus environmentally-friendly technologies in the shipbuilding industry. After “Ampere”, the world’s first electrical ferry in Norway, Siemens has received a follow-up order of the Finnish shipping company FinFerries. Ampere was put into operation in Norway in May 2015, and has traveled a distance equivalent to more than 1.5 times around the equator. With the change from diesel propulsion to battery, Norwegian ship owner Norled has reduced the cost of fuel by 60 percent. For FinFerries, Siemens has now tailor-made a suitable technical solution for Finland’s first emission-free ferry. This follow-up order confirms Siemens’ pioneer position delivering green solutions in the shipbuilding industry.

Industry 4.0 is on everyone’s lips, but practical implementation is still rather tentative. This is due not least to the lack of standards for linking the digital machines to each other. The VDW (German Machine Tool Builders’ Association) in Frankfurt am Main is now engaged in changing this.

It has for the first time formulated a comprehensive and nonetheless flexibly applicable standard with which robots or other workpiece carrier systems can be integrated more simply into a production system. This standard is scheduled for submission to the responsible technical committee of the International Organization of Standardization (ISO) in the upcoming weeks. “We are thus launching a first globally valid standard for interfaces in automated production systems,” says a gratified Dr. Hartmuth Müller, Chairman of the VDW’s “Machine Tool – Automation Interface” Working Group, which has drawn up the standard.

Boost for automation

It was only recently that the WGP (German Academic Society for Production Engineering) – a grouping of front-ranking German professors in this field – warned the small and mid-tier companies not to miss out on the revolution involved in digitised value creation chains made possible by Industry 4.0. The lack of standards for networking production lines, let alone entire production chains, is deplored not only by academics. “The firms often have to endure protracted struggles before their machines are able to communicate with each other in an automated production chain,” concurs Ralf Reines, a technical consultant at the VDW. The problem is this: “Machines are not going to understand each other if the interfaces concerned are not compatible because they have not been standardised, just as people cannot talk to each other if they don’t speak the same language.” Depending on the manufacturer concerned, signals like “Release the workpiece” and “Place the workpiece in the loading station” have different names, and the meanings behind them are not uniformly defined. This is why, for example, a robot cannot necessarily “agree” with the processing machine involved on how to load and then process the workpieces.

Costly and elaborate reprogramming not required

Sizeable production lines are in most cases installed without being able to test beforehand whether the machines are actually able to communicate with each other via the various interfaces provided. The individual machines involved are frequently too large and complex to be transported into a test environment. For this reason, the individual interfaces (i.e. the connections via which the data from the various machines are exchanged with each other) are discussed and coordinated beforehand by system integrators on the basis of numerous documents. Then comes the great moment when the line is switched on – and only too often nothing works. The amount of time and money expended on reprogramming the interfaces can be avoided – if all interfaces conform to a standard right from the start – as laid down in the new standard. “This will impart significant momentum to digitisation of production operations, and is an important step forward on the path to Industry 4.0,” says Hartmuth Müller confidently.

New standard is flexibly applicable

The newly created standard can be applied on a modularised basis, in order to meet a huge spectrum of disparate requirements – wherever particular workpieces have to be moved from transporting machines to processing machines. This may involve simple removal of a product’s parts or complete complex production lines, e.g. in an automotive production facility, where the workpieces are processed at different machines. In all, users can choose between three stages and different options for interpreting the standards to suit the specific project involved. Certain control system signals can be added or omitted, e.g. depending on whether the processing machine possesses a loading door guarding the machining area or not. The most important safety-engineering-related aspects are also laid down in a special safety interface.

In order to guarantee simplicity in actual use, the experts at the VDW have described the standard in an Excel file, with which the signals can be easily filtered for the various stages and options involved.

The formal procedure at the ISO begins with a survey on whether the standardisation project is of international importance. For this to apply, at least four countries have to regard the project as deserving of standardisation. Should this be the case, the work involved in international standardisation will be commenced. The experts are in no doubt that this will happen before the end of this year.

Whether in press shops or forging plants, at manufacturers of fittings or electrical parts, at steel stockholders or automotive industry suppliers: In countless industries, there is a demand for sawing solutions that combine high cutting performance with efficiency and precision. With its KASTOspeed range of products, the sawing specialist KASTO has just such a solution in its portfolio: The high-performance automatic circular saws have been specially designed for economic series production and excel thanks to their reliability and excellent results, even during continuous operations. By means of the KASTOsort robot interface they can easily be integrated in a controlled, end-to-end material flow.

KASTOspeed is available in two variants, for sawing steel or non-ferrous metals. Furthermore, users can choose between two sizes, with a cutting range of 90 or 153 millimetres (for round materials). The automatic circular saws help minimize cycle times and make it possible to produce millions of high precision cut parts every year when operated for two or three shifts per day. Thanks to its outstanding reliability and precision in continuous operation, KASTOspeed is one of the most frequently purchased high-volume circular saws in the world.

Depending on the ease of machining of the material and the production requirements, HSS full steel or disposable carbide saw blades are used on the KASTOspeed. The right cutting speed can be selected for each job. The optimum positioning of the saw drive and the four-point workpiece clamping arrangement enable an extremely short saw stroke. The robust machine construction with helical gearbox, combined with a hydraulically damped measuring stop and a bar pusher that can be moved rapidly into position, permits accurate cutting and very high output.

What is more, the KASTOspeed offers many different ways of improving efficiency. The KASTOsort robot interface makes it possible to automate upstream and downstream production processes and integrate these in a controlled, end-to-end material flow that includes the sawing operation itself. Industrial robots are able to remove the cut parts automatically and accomplish numerous other tasks, from deburring and chamfering, through centring, tapping, marking and printing and on to sorting, stacking and picking. This robot-saw solution can be further integrated with a container management or driverless transport system.

Depending on the customer’s requirements, KASTO integrates the robot controller into the saw controller, its own KASTOlogic Warehouse Management System or an existing ERP system. As a result, the user can control and monitor all the processes over a single interface and benefits from a perfectly harmonized process chain. A number of different magazine variants are available to allow large quantities of raw material to be stored upstream of the machine. This means that companies can run the system fully unattended even for long periods when required.

Picture 1: The high-performance automatic circular saw KASTOspeed has been specially designed for economic series production.

Picture 2: The KASTOsort robot interface allows automation of upstream and downstream production processes and their integration into a controlled, end-to-end material flow.

Picture 3: Industrial robots are able to remove the cut parts automatically and accomplish numerous other tasks, from deburring and chamfering, through centring, tapping, marking and printing and on to sorting, stacking and picking.

Picture 4: Depending on the customer’s requirements, KASTO integrates the robot controller into the saw controller, its own KASTOlogic Warehouse Management System or an existing ERP system.